Monday, June 14, 2010

Hip Hop Today



Today, hip hop fashion is in a very different place than it was 30 years ago. Consumers have made hip hop fashion a billion dollar industry, but it would not be possible it the genre had not borrowed from some very unusual places over the years.




Hip hop artists Jay-Z and Russell Simmons saw the success of Puffy's label and decided to start their own clothing labels: Jay-Z began RocaWear and Russell created Phat Farm.

Modern Day Hip Hop



Eventually seeing the loads of money that could be made from hip hop clothing, Puff Daddy decided to capitalize on the demand and began the clothing label Sean John.

Beginning of a billion dollar industry


What started in the 1980s with the Kangol and Adidas would explode in the mid-to-late 90s, as demand for brand name hip hop clothing would increase dramatically. Labels such as Fubu in 1994 were made specifically to cater to the growing consumers of hip hop fashion.

West Coast


While East coast rappers mimicked movie gangsters, West coast rappers adopted an 'urban gangsta' look. They wore custom suits, but they also wore tighter shirts, much more jewelry, and bandanas. Most of the clothing had a distinctive 'street' feel.

Mafioso


As the mid 90s arrived, hip hop fashion would settle into the identity that the 90s' period of the genre would be known for. 1994 marked the meteoric rise of popular East coast rapper the Notorious B.I.G. Biggie Smalls was declared the savior of East coast rap, as the rap game had been dominated in recent years by the likes of West coast rappers Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg.
As Biggie shifted some of the power back to the East coast, he and his producer, Sean "Puff Daddy" Combs, would establish a new trend for hip hop: mafioso. Mafioso hip hop was product of the gangsta rap would had taken the place of the motivational, cautionary tales which hip hop began with. Biggie and Puffy's wardrobe were inspired by the mobster movies which they crafted their personas around. This look included custom suits, gold chains, and gator shoes. And once again, a hip hop fashion trend was inspired by what came before.

1990s Begin and women in Hip-hop


As the 90s came along, there were a lot of 'left overs' from the previous decade. People were still wearing baseball caps backwards and wearing oversized clothes. Hip hop artists such as The Fresh Prince and TLC were known for wearing such clothing, and women were beginning to find a place in hip hop fashion.

Sports in Hip Hop


By the end of the 80s, one of the most notorious hip hop groups of all time would rise to fame: N.W.A., standing for 'Niggaz wit attitudes'. They were the first major rap group out of the west coast to earn national recognition, and their presence initiated a darker tone for rap music. They rapped about what they believed was really going on in the streets of california, and they believed such a violent image of Cali had not been portrayed in the media and attention should be drawn to the violence in cities like Compton and Watts. They expressed their dark tone in their choice of dress: due to their affinity with the NFL's Los Angeles Raiders, they wore Raiders gear and black and silver. This started hip hop's affiliation with sports, foreshadowing the throwback jerseys that we see today. But more importantly, the popularity of the Raiders may have increased crime in Los Angeles; some people affiliated the black and silver with gang colors, and there were often reports of people stealing items such as the Raiders jacket becase it 'looked cool'. Nevertheless, sports have played a huge role in hip hop fashion and showed hip hop's habit of taking established trends and making it your own.

In hindsight, Run DMC perhaps had the biggest impact in hip hop fashion in the 1980s. Brand names like adidas, kangol, and Le Coq Sportif were the first major labels to attach themselves to hip hop artists. Adidas had the biggest impact; off the success of Run DMC's 1986 hit "My Adidas", Adidas became a huge player among urban youth. But Adidas was not the only shoe company that benefitted: reebok would go on to become a dominat force in the sneaker industry, and the 90s would see the rise to dominace for Nike. Run DMC initiated this huge market.

Afro-centric


Slick, along with Run DMC, was one of the most popular MCs of the 1980s. But unlike Run DMC, his fashion was not completely original. Instead, he borrowed from the garb of his ancestry. Many other people involved themselves in the afro-centric movement, but it still borrowed heavily from establish trends.

'My Adidas'



After Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five celebrated glam rock, making school that much harder for their children, Run DMC became the first hip hop group to establish a style that was unique to the genre. While many Hip hop trends borrow from the old, Run DMC wanted to be different. So they wore fedora hat, jumpsuits, leather jackets, and of course : they rocked adidas shoes. Sure, they didn't invent new clothes, but an assemble like this had not been seen before. And they may be responsible for today's youthful obsession with designer shoes.


I know, scary isn't it? This is what you could be wearing if you were born 30 years earlier. Hip hop began in the 1970s in New York, so by this time(early 80s) hip hop was not old enough to develop it's distinctive fashion. Instead, MCs simply borrowed from the fashion of rock artists. Thank God times changed...

The Beginning


Yes, this is the beginning of hip hop fashion. You may not believe me, but then go on to the next picture...

This is hip hop fashion today: designer sweaters/jackets, baseball caps, stunner shades, but how did we get to this point?

Hip Hop Fashion

Hello, everyone. This is a blog to celebrate Hip Hop, but more specifically here: the fashion that distinguishes Hip Hop. This goes for the designer shoes, brand name shirts, baggy jeans, the chains, high tops, whatever defines Hip Hop fashion for you.
However, in order to show how Hip Hop clothes have evolved over the years I wanted to compare it with the fashion that came before it. Believe it or not, but Hip Hop borrows heavily from other fashion trends, puts it's own unique spin on the trend, and makes it it's own.